1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric steering lock system comprising: a casing mounted to a steering column; a locking member slidably supported in the casing between a position for engaging the casing with the steering shaft and a position for disengaging the casing from the steering shaft; a rotation member; an electric motor; and a planetary gear mechanism for reducing the rotation speed of the electric motor and transmitting the rotation speed to the rotation member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such an electric steering lock system is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-59903 for example.
However, in the disclosed electric steering lock system, deceleration is conducted only at a single stage by a planetary gear mechanism, leading to a possibility that a sufficient deceleration is not provided for driving a locking member to slide with a sufficient power. Then, it is conceivable that a two-staged deceleration is conducted by the planetary gear mechanism, but this naturally provides an increase in the number and size of components.